Overview
- Nationwide announced cuts to a range of two-, three- and five-year fixed mortgages that took effect on Tuesday, August 4.
- Reductions reach up to 0.19 percentage points, bring the lender’s cheapest fixed deal to 4.52%, and apply to first-time buyers, home movers and remortgagers on products up to 95% loan-to-value.
- Nationwide said the changes follow recent falls in swap rates, which are the wholesale funding costs lenders use to set fixed mortgage pricing and can move independently of the Bank of England base rate.
- Other lenders have reacted differently: Halifax raised some products the next day by up to 0.12%, with brokers saying firms are balancing their own funding, margin targets and pipeline limits rather than copying each other.
- For borrowers the rapid, small moves create timing risk because fractional rate changes can alter monthly payments substantially, and further repricing will depend on how swap rates and geopolitical developments evolve.